an eventful last year
by MistressMetis
Summary: Hermione Granger is in her seventh year at Hogwarts. She is looking forward to a quiet last year and excited about being chosen as head girl. Bellatrix Black, a seasoned Auror, has agreed to teach Defense against the Dark Arts.
1. Chapter 1

It was the first of September again and for the last time Hermione was sitting in the Hogwarts express for her last year of school. Harry and Ron weren't with her as Professor McGonagall made her Head Girl and she was supposed to meet the head boy in the last wagon. For some reason he wasn't there yet, so she was sitting by herself for now.

She had a book on her lap, something her mum picked out, to say goodbye to her summer break in the muggle world. The sun was shining brightly, and she had to squint at the pages. After a while Hermione heard something fall on the floor outside the compartment, she was in. She got up and looked into the corridor and saw red, curly hair laying on the floor.

"Well hello there", she said, "Can I help you?".

The boy looked up at her and answered, „Yes, that would be great".

Hermione reached out and pulled him up. "I am Hermione Granger, and you are?"

"Hello, I am Theodore Cook". Hermione mustered the boy: He was pretty tall and lanky; he could have been mistaken for a Weasley.

"You must be head boy!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Yes, yes I am! I am a Hufflepuff, ummm I think we had potions together one year", Theodore smiled at her.

Hermione pondered what he said, she could barely remember him. She was always a bit preoccupied in potions class, so maybe she hadn't noticed him. If they had any other classes together, she really didn't remember Theodore. She didn't want him to think that she was ignorant so she decided to go along with him.

"Oh, that must be true! Do you want to come and sit down? Maybe we can talk a bit, get to know each other? We will be working together a lot this year", Hermione asked him.

"Yes, let's do that. I am very sorry about being late, but my little sister is a first year and I had to get her settled. Then I stumbled, you must think I am a right mess…", he answered.

"I am not thinking that at all Theodore! Let's get settled", Hermione told him.

She was excited to get to know Theodore and she was glad that the head boy wasn't someone she already knew. Hermione had expected Draco Malfoy or Blaise Zabini to be chosen as head boy and that wouldn't have made her year easy. She had just had a wonderful time at her parents' house and she was looking forward to a last peaceful year at Hogwarts. The years before had always been quite eventful and she hadn't really had the time to simply enjoy school and living in the highlands.

Harry and Ron both had girlfriends, Harry and Ginny finally got together after spending a lot of time around each other at the Burrow the last few months, and Ron was with Lavender Brown again. Hermione didn't quite understand the Ron and Lavender situation, they always seemed to just be screaming at each other, but she was glad that the boys were happy. She wasn't mad at them for spending less time with her, but she did feel a bit lonely. Getting to know Theodore seemed to be the best thing that could have happened.

When they got to the castle everything went as it usually does: the first years were sorted, the feast was opened and McGonagall said a few things that needed to be known. One unexpected situation arose though.

It was clear that they would be getting a new Professor for Defense against the Dark Arts, what was unexpected to Hermione was that there was a woman sitting next to the other Professors that she had only seen in the Prophet so far.

"The only addition to this years teaching stuff is Bellatrix Black. She will be taking over for Professor Lupin for the position as Professor for Defense against the Dark Arts. Madame Black is a seasoned Auror and after many years as such she has decided that she would prefer to teach you all that she has learnt. Please welcome her with open arms!", Headmistress McGonagall announced to the student body.

Hermione knew exactly who Bellatrix Black was. She had read all about the missions she completed over the last years and she was excited to finally have somebody who knew what they were talking about in the position. After Gilderoy Lockhartt anyone would do a better job. Hermione was sad that Remus wouldn't be teaching anymore but she understood that he wanted to be there for Teddy while Tonks went on missions.

Hermione started to look at Professor Black, the woman had long and dark curly hair, which fell in ringlets around her face. She wore a thick teaching cloak but under it, Hermione thought she saw a black corset. Her skin was very pale and in combination with her dark eyes and hair, and red lips, she looked the way Hermione had thought snow white to look like when she was younger. The woman was very beautiful, and her strong cheekbones and long neck made her look aristocratic.

"She looks mean, I hope she won't give us too much homework...", Ron whispered to Hermione.

"Well Ronald, I for one, am happy to have a stricter teacher if she actually teaches us. I would say that we are all in dire need of some dueling lessons, you and Harry especially if you want to get into the Auror program. There is nothing better that could have happened to prepare you both for it!", Hermione answered.

"Hermes is right, Ron!", Harry added from across the table. He was very happy with his new Professor. After his godfather left the post, he had told him to watch out for the new teacher. Remus was sure that the new teacher would be fantastic, and Harry thought he was exactly right. He didn't care about homework or harder exams: he would probably be learning more than he ever had in the class.

Hermione smiled at Harry, he had always been good at calculating whether something would be good or bad.

"At least I will have you guys if I am struggling", Ron said grumpily. He wasn't the best duellist or the most studious, he could only hope that the new Professor wouldn't kill his plans of becoming an Auror.

The rest of the evening was uneventful and they all soon went back to the dorms. Hermione was very happy because for the first time she didn't have to share with Lavender and Parvati. Instead she had the head girl suite with a huge bedroom and even a living room and a small kitchen. She would still be using the prefect's bathroom, but she loved the big bath in it and the beautifully tiled windows.

Hermione found her trunk standing right in front of her bed as always, she so appreciated the work of the elves. She started to unpack her clothes and school supplies and put them away in an orderly fashion.

Her rooms even had a desk positioned right in front of a big window. She could see the quidditch pitch and even parts of the Forbidden Forest and Black Lake. Hermione couldn't imagine a more beautiful view. After she put the last of her school supplies on her desk, she decided to have a quiet evening and finish her book before going to bed.

She was looking forward to the next day, as she would be getting her timetable and maybe a chance at seeing the new Professor Black in the classroom.


	2. Chapter 2

The sun shone into Hermione's room and tickled her eyes. She stretched and looked to her right through the big window. There was still fog around the quidditch pitch and everything further wasn't yet visible to her. Hermione slowly sat up and just took in the quietness around her. She had missed being at Hogwarts. She loved her parents to death but coming back to school was always one of the best feelings in the world to her. Here she had her friends, her huge library, and so many awe-inspiring things to learn. It was still fairly early and she decided to make herself some tea and meditate for a while. That first hour of the day was precious to Hermione and she was very happy at finally having it to herself, no roommates or loud noises from everywhere.

She was meeting Harry, Ron, and Neville in the common room but at 6.30 nobody was there yet. So she waited a while for everybody to come down. About fifteen minutes later Harry came out of the boys dormitory.

"Good morning Hermione!", he exclaimed and went straight towards her.

"Hello there Harry, did you sleep well?"

"Of course I did! It's Hogwarts!", Harry smiled.

Hermione had to laugh. Only Harry appreciated being back at Hogwarts as much as she did. He still looked a bit rumpled from sleep, his hair unruly as ever.

"The others need some more time but they'll meet us in the Great Hall, let's go?"

"Sure thing, he-who-doesn't-own-a-brush", Hermione answered. Harry laughed hard at that and rubbed Hermiones hair.

They went to the Great Hall by themselves chatting along. The biggest topic were of course their new schedules. Hermione was hoping for a lot of breaks in between classes so that she could make use of the library during the day and be done with schoolwork come the evening. Harry was different, he preferred to have classes right after another so that he could go to quidditch practice to chill after a school day and work on the rest later. The Gryffindors also discussed the newest addition to the teaching staff. Harry couldn't wait either to see her teaching style, the only Auror that taught them was Professor Moody and that was a complete disaster.

After tucking into breakfast and talking to the other students for a while McGonagall came to their table and gave them their timetables. Hermione and Harry had almost the same one, except from Hermione taking Ancient Runes and Arithmancy and Harry taking Divination. Ron and Neville slowly trotted in to get at least a quick breakfast; they also had the same schedule as Harry did.

"Mornin' everyone", Ron said. He looked extremely tired still. "Sorry for being late, I couldn't fall asleep last night and simply didn't wanna get up this morning…Am a bit worried about that Defense class, I think. I really wanna be an Auror but who knows if that's gonna work with Black around", he whined.

"Oh Ron!", Hermione answered, "Don't worry so much. I am sure everything will be fine and if it isn't you can count on us! What are friends for?" She grinned at him and he shyly looked up. He believed her and gave a small smile in return.

"Thanks 'Mione, you're the best. I really appreciate it."

Ron finally tucked into his breakfast and ate it as fast as humanly possible. Class would start soon and their first one was Defense.

Together they went to their classroom and were confronted with a closed door. A small group of Gryffindors and Slytherins were already standing in front of it.

"What's going on guys?", Hermione asked loudly.

"The door won't budge, we've tried everything!", came the frustrated answer from the cloud of people.

Hermione didn't believe them. Bellatrix Black was an Auror, which meant that she thought like an Auror. Had she wanted them to be inside the door wouldn't be closed. On the other hand, it could be a test for the students. Maybe she wanted them to try to get inside. It was now a minute after class was supposed to start so Hermione decided on the latter.

"What exactly have you tried?", she wanted to know.

A Slytherin told her, "We used Alohomora and tried to simply open it with the key…".

Of course, it wouldn't be that easy. Hermione recently read a book about warding charms. Her early morning meditation was finally good for something, to detect warding charms a witch needs to feel the wards. Whenever magic is used to protect there is a trace magic.

Hermione walked in front of the door and all the others went two steps back. Maybe they were afraid she would use Bombarda.

She closed her eyes and focused on her own magic flowing through her body. When she could feel that clearly she tried to push her magic outwards and against the door. A few breaths later her magic was encountering a resistance. Hermione could feel Professor Blacks magic, it was very different from her own, it seemed to beg her to come closer, to fall into it.

Hermione quickly opened her eyes. She knew what warding charms it was.

"Aperire", she whispered and made a difficult motion with her wand. It only took seconds for the door to open and for her to see Professor Black grinning at her.

The other students applauded Hermione but for a moment she was lost in Professor Blacks eyes. She tried to suppress a victorious smile but she was sure that the older witch had seen it. Black nodded at her and slowly she went towards the front of the room.

After everyone had found a seat, Professor Black looked over her new pupils. They were sitting in two sections, Slytherins and Gryffindors. The house rivalry was apparently still in full force. She couldn't decide whether she should be happy about that or not. Her nephew Draco was sitting in his chair, head held high, with a snotty grin on his face. She decided that she wasn't happy with that situation. As an Auror she knew where this kind of separation led to.

"Good day students", she said and then paused for some time.

"I would have you know that I expect you to be here promptly at 8.30 for my class. I do not allow tardiness in my classroom. Either you're on time or you can go straight to the Headmistress' office, I am sure she will be happy to greet you, as you are surely aware she has nothing better to do than to discipline adults."

Looking around the room she could see a lot of downcast faces but there was one angry one as well.

"It isn't our fault that you felt the need to bloody ward the classroom. We were all here on time!", Ron exclaimed angrily.

"And what might your name be? By the looks I would suggest a Weasley but I am sure that Arthur would have better behaved children.", Bellatrix answered the young man.

Rons eyes grew bigger. He tried to retaliate but couldn't come up with anything good. He shut his mouth and sat back down. Hermione was looking at him with exasperation on her face. Why did he always need to make it harder for himself?

"One student here was smart enough to open the doors for everyone.", she looked right at Hermione. "What is your name, please?"

"I…I…I'm Hermione Granger, ma'am.", Hermione answered shakily. The woman looking at her that way sent goosebumps all over her body. She wasn't used to it behaving that way.

"Can you talk without that despicable stutter as well Miss Granger?", Bellatrix asked, looking at Hermione sincerely. She couldn't stand people who couldn't articulate themselves well or cowards who shivered just from her presence.

"Yes, ma'am. I can.", she said confidently this time. There was a glimmer of something in the other witches' eyes. Hermione didn't know what it was, but it seemed like recognition of something.

"I am glad", Professor Black answered in a bored manner, "as you seem to be the only one who isn't a complete dunderhead. I would have expected better from seventh years."

The class was silent.

"Warding charms are an essential part of every witches and wizard's life. If you cannot even counter the simple one, I set, then I don't know what you are gonna do in the real world", Bellatrix told them.

Looking into every student's eyes she saw that they were intimidated by her. Most of them tried to evade her but Hermione Granger stared right back. What a nice turn, Bellatrix thought.

"How do you detect a magical ward?", the teacher asked.

Nobody raised their hand.

"Well, Miss Granger?" Bellatrix asked in a bored tone.

"I don't know the scientific wording, but one has to feel the protective magic of a ward. Judging from there one can figure out what charm it is. There is different levels of warding charms and it can even be a whole web of them. By each layer added and by feeling each intersection, one is able to counter it.", Hermione answered, still looking into Bellatrix' eyes.

Her gaze was almost unsettling to Bellatrix, but she got a grip of herself and looked over the whole class again.

"That is correct Miss Granger. Now, can anyone tell me how one feels magic?"

Once again there wasn't anyone who was able to answer. Raising an eyebrow at the Granger girl she expected her to respond.

"One needs to go inside oneself and feel ones own magic and push outwards from there."

"Who doesn't understand, what Miss Granger is saying?", the teacher asks.

Almost every hand is being raised by her pupils. She sighs. She would need to start in the very beginning. The seventh year was the year for really understanding ones own magic and being able to use it even windlessly. The Professor didn't think that many would be achieving good results in her class if they couldn't even feel their own magic. It was an important aspect of dueling as well. She was at Hogwarts to train Aurors. So far she could only imagine one student to be capable but she didn't want to rush her opinion yet.

"For the remainder of the class I would like all of you to sit on the floor. Please push the tables to the sides of the room."

After doing as told the students sat down on the cold stone floor. Not a second later a thick rug appeared underneath everyone.

"Can't have you getting sick, can I now?", Black asked the class. They were looking at her amazed. It was very difficult to do magic wordlessly and even harder to do it wordlessly as well as without a wand. She laughed at their faces.

"Now, please close your eyes and put the fingers of your hands together. Relax and try to breathe evenly." She waited a few minutes. There was a calmness laying over the classroom that was quite beautiful.

Professor Black whispered, "Can you feel your blood beating in your fingertips? Can you feel your upper body moving up and down?" There were nods all around.

"Now try to take a deep breath and feel deeply inside of yourselves. There should be a tickling sensation. That is your magic." Looking over the room Bellatrix saw the exertion of the young adults.

"Don't try too hard. It needs to be innate. You all have magic within you and it should be natural, ordinary for you to feel it." She let this go on for another twenty minutes.

"That is it for today everyone", she exclaimed and ripped the students out of their meditation.

The students still seemed in trance and only slowly they left the room. Bellatrix could only hear whispers from the corridor outside.

"Professor Black?", a meek voice asked.

Of course, who else but Hermione Granger,? thought the teacher.

"What can I do for you Miss Granger?"

"Well, when I was trying to get into the room I could feel your magic."

"Yes, and?"

"It, ummm, it didn't feel like the magic I am used to. I mean, whenever I try to feel the magic of others around me it feels, I don't know. Like nothing. It doesn't have a personality per se. Do you know what I mean?", Hermione asked.

The young woman was chewing her bottom lip and looking down at her. Bellatrix hadn't noticed the girl coming closer. She was taller than herself, even though Bellatrix was wearing heels.

"I believe I do Miss Granger. Don't worry too much about it for now, we will get to that at a later point in time." Bellatrix knew exactly what the younger girl meant but she didn't think it wise to talk about it just yet. It was very unusual for Hermione to be able to feel her magic in any other way than emotionless and she didn't want to think about the reasons as to why that might be.

"But Professor Black…", Hermione tried. It had been a very strange experience being able to feel her Professors essence through her magic. "No, Miss Granger, that is enough for today.", Bellatrix cut in. Hermione's eyes lit up frustratedly.

"Good day, Professor.", she said and rushed out of the classroom. Bellatrix sighed, it would be a long year.


End file.
